“I think I can beat my record,” says Noah Lyles

American Noah Lyles, world champion in the 200m last month with the 4th performance of all time (19.31), thinks he can “run even fasterFriday in Lausanne, enough to threaten the world record of legend Usain Bolt (19.19 in 2009).

“I prepare for each race to put myself in condition to beat the world record, with the same concentration. I can’t imagine going to a start without wanting to give the best of myself“said the 25-year-old American at a press conference before the Diamond League meeting.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow (Friday). I refresh my weather app all the time. If the conditions are good, with the wind on my side, I think I can beat my personal best“, he launched.

Lyles set his personal best at the Worlds in Eugene (USA) last month by winning a second world title in the 200m in 19.31s, the 4th performance of all time just 12 hundredths of a second off the world record in ‘Usain Bolt.

“I could run even faster”

Since then, Lyles has managed another very high level race in Monaco on August 10 (19.46, 9th performance all time), before attending for three days at the European Championships in Munich last week, where he was able to cheer on several of his teammates from coach Lance Brauman’s Florida group.

Struggling in 2021 with a disappointing Olympics and mental health lows, Lyles sees 2022 as “the best year of [s]for life“.

“I hadn’t been able to surf my 2019 title because of Covid-19 which had disrupted the 2020 season, so this year I see these meetings as a kind of lap of honor after my title and I’m happy about it, I’m happy to come to some of my favorite tracks and see what the timer gives“, he explained.

“I see signs in training that tell me that I could run even faster this year. We’ll see if I’m able to explode everything on one of these races!“, he launched.

In 2019, Lyles had a magnificent race in Lausanne, with a victory in 19 sec 50.

“It’s an old but very fast track with a tight, rather oval, not straight turn.“, he detailed. “The important thing here is to make the transition with the straight line, which requires some adjustments. But I’ve been here since last Wednesday, I had time to prepare for it with a lot of training.”